The Physical Activity and Leisure Motivation Scale: A confirmatory study of the Malay language version

Abstract

The aim of this study is to validate a Malay language version of the Physical Activity and Leisure Motivation Scale (PALMS) using a confirmatory approach. Data collection was conducted in Kelantan, Malaysia. Participants were 634 university undergraduate students (female 63%, male 37%), mean age of 21 years. Motivation for physical activity was assessed using the 40-item PALMS, which measures eight motives. PALMS was first translated into Malay using standard forward and backward translation procedures. Participants then completed the PALMS-Malay (PALMS-M). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted, using Mplus 7.3 software, on the 8-motive PALMS-M model. The hypothesised model consisted of 40 observed items, and 8 latent variables. Employing CFA, this model did not result in a good fit to the data. Further examination of CFA results suggested modifications to the path model to improve fit indices. This modification included deleting two problematic items (items 10 and 18) and co-varying the error terms for items 19 and 31. This resulted in improved fit indices (RMSEA = .041 (90% CI: .038, .044), CIfitRMSEA = 1.000, CFI = .911, TLI = .901, SRMR = .052). The final measurement model consisted of 38 items. The majority of the items were retained and were considered acceptable for the present sample.